Rick Porcello is annoying but the money is spent and with this offense a guy who can milk 6-7 innings without getting completely overwhelmed is a positive.

I was a little surprised that they took Porcello out after only 81 pitches, when the bullpen clearly has been overtaxed and underperforming most recently. He was not great, giving up 3 HR in 6 IP, but the bullpen gave up 4 HR in 2 IP which (fiddles with an abacus) is not as good. Easy to second-guess, I know, and maybe giving someone a break when he doesn't have his best stuff is the way to go.

Pitching Payroll

Boston Red Sox $90,977,058, 101 ERA+
Detroit Tigers $87,885,005, 91 ERA+
Chicago Cubs $85,236,000, 155 ERA+
New York Yankees $83,578,385, 102 ERA+
Los Angeles Dodgers $76,856,567, 112 ERA+

Washington Nationals $67,682,564, 143 ERA+
San Francisco Giants $67,058,410, 109 ERA+
St. Louis Cardinals $60,383,539, 97 ERA+
Texas Rangers $58,439,079, 113 ERA+
Arizona Diamondbacks $56,466,137, 91 ERA+
Price 87 ERA+ and Porcello 111 ERA+ $51,625,000

Every other team spends less on pitching than the Red Sox spend on that duo. Still, could be worse.

David Ortiz is at a 197 OPS+. He has 40 XBH. The man is a miracle.

Clay Buchholz has value as a middle reliever, and I'd even use him in the 7th or 8th innings. He's better than Tazawa, and I'd say at this stage he could be better than Koji. Not having to pace himself to pitch 6 or 7 innings a game helps him. He has good movement on his hard stuff, so I see him being a success in this role.

I hate him as a starter.

What the hell is wrong with Price?

??? I don't think anything is wrong with Price and I don't think I suggested otherwise. Or are you saying you think something is wrong with Price in which case...what are you talking about? He didn't have his best stuff tonight it looked like (I was at the game, can be tough to tell) but 7 innings, 3 runs against that lineup is fine. Five straight quality starts since noted pitching coach Dustin Pedroia fixed him.

nothing is wrong with Price. How many runs has the pen coughed up over the last 3 games? I find it frustating when the pen can't keep a game close. It just eliminates any chance of a reasonable comeback(unless you're playing the Padres)

Well, other than being a very capable mole - nice peripherals and won-loss record to throw investigators off scent but still managing that 5+ ERA and looking just good enough that there's not something obviously wrong. I'm not sure whether he's still working for Tampa or Toronto yet; that probably won't become clear until later in the year.

I'm pissed off that Dombrowski finally picked now to assemble a decent bullpen.

What the hell is wrong with Price?

You mean other than a 4.88 ERA? Can't think of a thing.

Swihart and Hanigan to the DL, Noe to Pawtucket, Sandy Leon, Heath Hembree and Rusney Castillo called up.

Price has been very good since his mechanical tweak. He's been right about as expected. Of course his terrible start is going to weigh down his numbers heavily to this point but I feel good about the Red Sox chances of winning every time he takes the mound now.

It's frustrating to hear that Hanigan has been dealing with a neck strain for more than a week and the Red Sox still kept trotting him out there while Swihart was on the roster. If they're not going to have Swihart catch even while their backup catcher is hampered with a physical ailment, I guess they're fully committed to his position change. As good as he's looked defensively at left, the combination of his defense and hitting ability at catcher is so much more appealing. They can't even blame the pitching staff's struggles on him anymore since they've been getting pounded with Hanigan or Vazquez behind the plate.

June 6th team stats update, re: two-baggers.

Fenway is a huge booster for hitting doubles. But even so, the Sawx are really popping them in 2016. With 148 in 57 games, that's on pace for 421, smashing the MLB record. They are 33 2Bs ahead of the 2nd place team (Rockies). And the Rockies are only 38 ahead of the FEWEST doubles hitters.

Taking MLB team stats, the avg team has hit 95.5 doubles in 56.6 games, stdev of 14.0. The Sox are 3.7 std devs above avg (prorating 2B hit by games played). If you take Boston out of the overall stats, they are a stunning 5.3 std devs above average. That's what the statisticians call a clear outlier.

Away:


Home:



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Generated 6/6/2016.

Since 1913, doubles in 7%+ of AB in a Home or Road split, has only happened at home:

BOS (13): 1949, 1988, 1993, 1995, 2003-05, 2008-09, 2011-13, 2016
CLE (9): 1921-23, 1926-27, 1930-31, 1934, 1936
STL (3): 1930-31, 1939
PHI (2): 1930, 1932

COL (1): 2016
MON (1): 1994
KCR (1): 1978
PHA (1): 1928

Highest % is 2016 BOS 8.5% of AB are 2B, followed by 1931 STL 8.1% of AB are 2B. 1931 Cardinals at home with 10+ 2B:


2016 Red Sox at Home:



Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/6/2016.

Splendid Splinter vs. Big Papi final season face-off!
David Ortiz through 51 games: 224 PA, 16 HR, 54 RBI, .340 BA, .424 OBP, .732 SLG, 1.156 OPS, 200 OPS+
Ted Williams through 51 games: 155 PA, 14 HR, 32 RBI, .347 AVG, .477 OBP, .752 SLG, 1.229 OPS, ~200 OPS+

Ortiz vs Ortiz, first 51 games of season (18 seasons, 0 games in '97 and '99):

SLG, OPS, 2B & WPA: 1st
3B & CS: T1st
BA, OBP, HR & RBI: 2nd
Hits, IBB, SB & SH: T2nd
BB: 6th

Runs: 7th
SF: T8th
SO & HBP: T9th
PA & AB: 10th
GIDP: 13th

Big ties with 0: SH is a 17 way tie, HBP is 10 way and CS 15 way.

1. David Ortiz.

No, seriously…DAVID ORTIZ DAVID ORTIZ DAVID ORTIZ!!!

Question for Therapudians: Assuming he can only do one*, would you rather see David Ortiz, in this his 41st year on earth, break Earl Webb's 85-year-old doubles record or win the Triple Crown. He's currently is third in BA (.012 behind Victor Martinez), third in homers (two behind co-leaders Trumbo and Frasier) and leading in RBIs.

* Obviously this question is strictly hypothetical. In real life, we should expect him to do both.

Oh wow. I've always had a thing for both those achievements. The Triple Crown has always fascinated me and I was so excited when Cabrera did it a couple years ago but the doubles record is really intriguing too. Something like that held by such a nondescript guy like Webb is fascinating to me. I think if I had to choose I'd take the triple crown but it's hard to pick one or the other.

Breaking Webb's record also passes Yaz and passes Ted (525) for 2nd as a Red Sox, min 2B to break Webb's record:



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Generated 6/6/2016.

Also gives him a little more breathing room over Beltre 573. Pujols with 588 is very likely to pass Ortiz assuming he plays until the end of his contract and Miggy with 503 is in very good shape to pass Ortiz assuming Papi does retire after this season.

Question for Therapudians: Assuming he can only do one*, would you rather see David Ortiz, in this his 41st year on earth, break Earl Webb's 85-year-old doubles record or win the Triple Crown. He's currently is third in BA (.012 behind Victor Martinez), third in homers (two behind co-leaders Trumbo and Frasier) and leading in RBIs.

Unlike Jose I don't get so riled up over the triple crown, but in all honesty I'd rather he get the triple crown than the doubles record. For a player who has developed somewhat of a legendary status as it is, earning the triple crown in one's final season would be so friggin' legendary. The doubles record in his last season is nice obscure barroom trivia. Triple crown in his last season is a mic drop.

I have to say that this Sox team is very compelling, with its combination of homegrown stars, aging heroes, and flaws. No, it's not really as good as the '04 or '07 teams, but it's much more fun to me than the last WS squad, which I had serious difficulty falling in love with, for whatever reason. Maybe it's just that JBJ & Mookie & Bogaerts are far more fun players to watch than Petey & the Rent-a-Stars were. Maybe it's that the iffy rotation means that any given game could be an adventure. I realize that Sox fans have been spoiled for the last 15 years, but this is a really enjoyable team, in a way they haven't been in a while.